Go Team
by bethygrace
Summary: Because at the end of the day, they were a team. And she was the heart of it all.
1. Go Team

Arrow Prompt: Felicity and Sarah are being held by Slade as a way of getting revenge on Oliver. They manage an escape attempt and while this is going on, Felicity is hurt. She would just slow Sarah down so Felicity sacrifices herself, telling Sarah to keep going because they would have a better chance against Slade if she (Sarah) was with Oliver, Roy, and Diggle, and that she could be rescued then. Sarah reluctantly leaves and Felicity is recaptured. Please?

"Ollie.."

He spun on a dime, his eyes widening as he took in the sight of a blood-covered Sara, slumping over as she took the stairs gingerly.

Both he and Dig rushed to her side, one arm around her waist, the other around her shoulders, guiding her to the med bay. Her head was bleeding profusely at the hairline and he could see that her left hand was shattered. She caught him looking at it and didn't have the energy to give him a smile, "Broken ribs too. And there might be a stab wound somewhere."

He hissed, hands skimming over her arms as he took in her injuries.

Even as his broken girlfriend groaned in his arms, a sudden weight dropped into his stomach.

"Wait…where's Felicity?"

Tears mixed with blood as Sara dipped her head. Oliver's swore his heart had ceased to beat as she choked back a sob, "I left her behind."

Something crashed behind him and Roy's thunderous yell shook the foundry, "YOU WHAT?!" He heard a clash of bodies as he imagined Dig rushing forward to hold Roy back.

Refusing to believe that Sara would betray Felicity or leave her for dead, his eyes stayed fixed on hers, silently waiting for an explanation, all the while tamping down the hot acid burning in his chest.

"She made me go Oliver. We were trying to get out, to get away, and we were almost clear when they caught up to us." Another tear fell. "They all had to be injected with the mirakuru. I tried to protect her, but they tossed me around like a doll. She got in their faces and pulled their attention away from me." Oliver watched her clench her eyes shut in a mix of pain and regret. "She fought back but she was as beat up as I was. She kept screaming for me to run, to get help. I was going to stop them, but next thing I knew, they were gone and so was she."

Diggle was speaking but Oliver couldn't hear a thing over the whooshing of blood in his ears. Felicity was still out there, in pain, in the hands of his enemy.

Leaning forward to press a hard kiss to Sara's forehead, he threw one look to Roy before heading up the stairs, bow in hand.

"Ollie!"

Her voice made him pause, but he couldn't turn his head. There was only one blonde in his focus in that moment. "She saved me. Please, bring her home."

— »

It took two more days.

It had been seven since Slade had taken her and Sara both, two since Sara made her way back to the foundry.

Two days of tearing Starling City upside down before he found them.

He stopped counting the bodies as they dropped. The number was too high for him to think about and too inconsequential for him to worry about.

It was Felicity. There was no choice to make.

Slade's was the last to fall. He didn't do it alone, by any stretch. It took him, Dig, and Roy to bring him down to his knees before Oliver had his own vengeance, killing Slade Wilson a second time. A part of him wanted to linger, to burn the body instantly, ensure that it would never again house a human heartbeat.

But the knowledge that Felicity was somewhere in the building, alone, in pain, and – he prayed – still breathing, carried him away from the site.

His own injuries became more apparent as he searched feverishly. The broken ribs protested to the way he yelled her name. The stab wound in his thigh protested the speed of his run to find her. The concussion he was sure he had protested the constant movement and singular focus as he opened door after door, screaming her name.

But he pushed through it. It was Felicity. There was no choice to make.

His heart had all but given out from adrenaline when he threw open a door to see a slumped figure lying on the floor in the darkness. Her name caught in his throat as he pushed the door further, skidding to his knees at her side.

His blood-stained hands shook as they reached out to touch her pale, ashen face, to brush over her colorless lips, to seek out the pulse at her neck. His heart ceased beating for a moment as he waited for the soft sound that would ensure the world would keep spinning.

Before he could feel it, her eyelids fluttered, the sight jolting through him as she pushed her eyes open, "'ver?"

The breath he had been holding since Sara showed up at the foundry whooshed out of him as he cupped her bruised cheek, frowning at the raging fever he felt there.

"Shh, it's me. You're safe now."

Her eyes slid shut for a moment and the lance of fear struck his heart yet again. He had to get her out of there. A quick glance down her form showed more blood than he ever wanted to see on his partner and filled his veins with another burst of adrenaline. In seconds, he had his hooded jacket off and wrapped around her, lifting her into his arms.

A small hand gripped his t-shirt and he looked down, seeing her eyes opened to half mast, clouded with pain.

"'liver –" she breathed, wincing as she did.

"Shh, shh don't talk now. Just rest. You're safe," he soothed, pressing his head against hers in comfort.

Her eyebrows furrowed and she exhaled quickly, pinching the material of his shirt again, "Sar – Sara..she ok?"

Oliver stopped in his tracks, looking down in awe at the broken woman in his arms. Lying there in pain, and only thinking of another. His heart swelled, and despite the seriousness of the moment and the fear he still felt over her condition, he couldn't help the slight upturn of his lips as he gazed at her, "You saved her, Felicity."

He watched her eyes fall closed again on a sigh, the hint of a smile curving her lips as she breathed, "Go team."


	2. So Brave

**A/N: Since everyone loved "Go Team" so much, I wanted to post a follow-up from Sara's perspective. I'm considering doing one from each team member's perspective, so let me know what you think of that idea.**

* * *

So brave.

Brave didn't even begin to cover it.

Try as she might, she couldn't encapsulate the emotions she was feeling into a single word. She had been trying for the last two hours and was still coming up dry.

The moment she heard from Oliver that they had found her and Dig thought they could treat her in the foundry, Sara had been a flurry of activity – prepping medical supplies, finding a set of clothes for her to change into, anything she could do to make her more comfortable.

She didn't even try to hide the tears when she saw her in Oliver's arms. She had given up control over her emotions when it came to Felicity the night she got away, but seeing her there in worse shape than before brought a fresh wave of tears to her eyes. Her hand found Felicity's and didn't let go.

She worked side by side with Dig as they cut away her bloodied clothing and looked her over for injuries, Oliver looking on worriedly as he ignored his own wounds. It panged Sara's heart seeing how much pain she had gone through after Sara had gotten away. Before, it was just bruising around her chin from a right hook, a cut along her hairline, and a heavy hacking cough from the cold room they were in.

Now, she let the tears fall as they bandaged her numerous cuts and rubbed bruise balm over the black-and-blue marbling that seemed to cover the rest of her. She was burning up and her lungs rattled noisily with each breath.

But she was alive.

And she was home.

Wiping away a tear from her eye, she flipped the cold compress on Felicity's forehead to the other side, wiping it down her bruised cheeks. Dig had given her pain meds and antibiotics, just to be safe, and her fever was lower than before, but Sara still couldn't tear herself away.

She saw both Oliver and Dig eyeing them out of the corner of her eye, Oliver's eyes fixed on Felicity's sleeping form as Dig patched him up. Roy had come in at some point, only to take up pacing at the foot of the table Felicity was on.

Looking back down at her friend, the woman who had selflessly saved her life twice now, Sara felt her heart ache.

Even before the island, before the League, before Nyssa – she had never known anyone like Felicity. Anyone who gave of themselves so freely, without condition, and often while sacrificing one's own desires or needs. That was the type of friend she had never expected but always yearned for.

After the island, she expected it even less. To be treated as a human being instead of a killing machine…that was enough.

Not for Felicity Smoak.

From the first time they spoke, Felicity showed her nothing but warmth. Even once she knew more about what Sara had done, nothing changed. If anything, Felicity went the extra mile to be a friend, a confidante, offering her ear, her shoulder, and a movie night if ever needed.

Somehow, while curled up in a blanket wearing fuzzy socks on Felicity's couch catching up on chic flicks from the years she was gone, she didn't feel like the killer she knew she was, she just felt like Sara.

Just Sara.

Regardless of her selfishness, Felicity treated her with respect. Despite the blood on her hands, she didn't eye her as a threat or as a murderer. When Sara and Oliver started their relationship, she didn't lash out. Even when she was feeling excluded, she took a bullet for Sara, pushing her aside and saving her life.

She didn't deserve Felicity Smoak.

But she was grateful to have her anyway.

"How is she?" Oliver's strained voice at her side drew her from her thoughts. Glancing over at her boyfriend, she frowned, seeing the pain and exhaustion in his eyes, surpassed only by the overwhelming concern for the woman on the table next to her.

"She's resting. The medicine seems to be helping with her fever."

He rubbed a rough hand over his face, reaching out with the other to cup Felicity's cheek. "I'm still wondering if we should've just taken her to the hospital."

Sara shook her head sharply, "No, no hospital. She wouldn't want that." Looking down at the petite blonde's resting form, Sara sighed, "She hates hospitals."

She could feel Oliver's curious eyes on her, seeking an explanation that he wouldn't be receiving. It wasn't her story to tell.

Felicity had told Sara about her fear of hospitals at the end of a red wine induced ramble. About the day she broke her arm badly at school as a child and her mother never came for her. About how she laid in her hospital bed alone for hours, scared as any child would be, before the doctor finally called one of her teachers to pick her up.

She had told the story in this nonchalant manner, like it was any other event. But Sara saw the scar underneath the joking tone. She heard the unspoken plea.

And that was why Sara would be there, by her side, when Felicity woke up.

She didn't deserve a friend like Felicity Smoak.


	3. He Worried

He had witnessed some pretty terrible things in combat. Things that at first had made him want to turn around and go back home. Things that made him question humanity altogether.

But over time, the calluses began to form around his heart, desensitizing him to the sights and sounds and smells of war. He steeled himself against it, learning to stuff the emotion away under lock and key, and simply muscle through.

For the first time since landing on his native soil, Dig couldn't force it back into the box. Every time he tried, it came out stronger, harder, and despite his best efforts, was on display as he reached out a trembling hand to cup her forehead.

"Fever's going down."

The words were said to no one in particular, but he needed to say them. Needed to regain control for a moment, even if it was a false sense of control. For all the medical training he received in combat, never had it been a security blanket wrapped around him like it was now.

The bruising was extensive, and Dig had already imagined how she took each hit. Oh he was sure she fought back, just like he had drilled into her head. But he also knew that she hadn't stood a chance against Slade. He had nearly killed all of them. Thinking of Felicity as the target of his rage, as his own personal punching bag, filled him with a cold, steely rage he hadn't felt towards anyone other than Deadshot.

Deadshot killed his brother.

And Slade nearly killed his sister.

Slumping into the stool he had pulled up to the side of the table, he eyed Felicity's companion. Sara had passed out an hour before, slumped over Felicity's midsection, hand still tightly wrapped around the IT girl's. He had a feeling that a bond had formed between them in their captivity, one that was now cemented in stone, if Sara's bedside vigil was any indication.

A slight smirk crossed his lips and he fondly reached for Felicity's other hands. His blonde hurricane of a friend, with all her babbling and innuendos, had gained the trust and loyalty of a trained assassin.

From him, she had gained a whole lot more.

He _saw_ her. Not just the IT girl and executive assistant that kept them all in check and grounded, but the woman that found her home, her security, her family in their ragtag bunch.

He knew how much this all meant to her. He knew she was more damaged than anyone would ever imagine. That she had faced her own demons. Not so much because she talked about them but because he saw the vulnerable looks that would cross her features after Oliver turned away. He saw the hint of fear in her eyes whenever they would leave for a mission, or the deep-bone sense of relief when they returned safely.

He _saw_ her.

And it only made him want to protect her more. Not because she was fragile. No, she bore an inner strength that rivaled Roy's physical strength. But because she was priceless. Irreplaceable. In Oliver's words, she was remarkable.

Shifting his eyes across the foundry, he spotted the younger man, taking up silent residence in Felicity's chair, elbows on his knees, face in his hands.

The look on Oliver's face when he had run towards them with Felicity in his arms was one Dig would never forget. For once, all the walls and masks were gone and Dig saw the scared boy that still remained inside of Oliver, the vulnerable man that wanted nothing more than to stop losing those he loved. And in that moment, Dig knew he wasn't even trying to deny the feelings he had for the broken woman in his arms.

From his spot in the driver's seat, he had heard Oliver softly whispering to her all the way back to the club. He didn't catch the words but it sounded like Russian. It sounded like a plea, or maybe a prayer.

Dig prayed a few of his own as he and Sara had cleaned her bruised skin, grateful that there were no gaping wounds, no signs of infection. He thanked the god he never believed in for small favors.

Turning his eyes back to her face, he felt his heart twist in his chest.

He had never expected Felicity. He had been concerned when Oliver first welcomed her to the team, worried about her safety. As time passed, he became more worried about her heart. With the addition of Sara to the team, he worried about her perception of herself, and strived to remind her how valuable she was, how important.

He worried.

It's what big brothers do.


	4. Special

**So after a very long hiatus from writing, I'm jumping back in and trying to update the multi-chapter fics I left unfinished. Starting with this one.**

**I doubt I will write from Roy's POV after today, as it's just not coming naturally at all. But I wanted to cover all the bases, so bear with me on this one. Next, we have Oliver!**

**So yeah, bear with me while I get back in the groove!**

Three steps. Stop. Turn. Four steps. Stop.

With each step, his fists clenched a little tighter, his breath ragged and uncontrolled as he paced. If he stopped to think about it, he wasn't sure who he was really angry at.

Slade for taking her in the first place.

Oliver for getting her into this whole thing.

Sara for leaving her behind.

Her for making him care.

Roy's eyes shot to her pale, bruised face, and then to her guardians, one on each side. It was strange to see her still, quiet. She was crazy, never stopped talking.

It didn't make any sense why the sight of her like this made him sick to his stomach.

They hadn't really talked that much, but she had always been kind to him. Welcoming. She definitely didn't treat him like the street rat he was. She brought a lightness to the group and a dose of humanity that they all needed.

Glancing at her again, he noticed the blanket covering her had shifted, leaving her toes uncovered. Without realizing it, he was at her side, situating the blanket to make sure she was warm, but not without catching a glimpse of bright color on her toes.

His quiet snort drew the attention of the others in the otherwise silent foundry.

"Who paints little yellow birds on her toenails?

The words hung in the air for a moment, weighing heavy, before a sigh cut through the silence, accompanied by a slight smile on Sara's face. Dig just shook his head, a slight smile playing on his own lips, as Oliver dropped his head.

It amazed him that a quirky, genius could bring all their worlds to a stop the way she had. He hadn't been around the team for a long time, but he had the feeling that she had no idea just what she meant to the people - the team - waiting anxiously for her to wake up.

Glancing at her again, he decided that when they woke up, he was going to be her friend.

Because she was clearly something special.


End file.
